


Encounter

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: BixFreed [6]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: First Meetings, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Missions Gone Wrong, Trust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-08-20 18:42:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16561208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: Their first meeting came in a whirl of pain, chaos and danger.





	Encounter

    Freed was certain that there wasn’t a single part of his body that didn’t hurt, including several places that he didn’t even know it was possible to hurt in and if he could, he would have slipped quite happily back into unconsciousness. Unfortunately, his brain had other ideas, the pain mercifully fading into the background as the memories of what had happened came rushing back. Along with a lot of confusion, because he could remember finding out that the job was nothing like he had been led to believe. He could remember being completely outnumbered, his protective runes giving way beneath the sheer force of the onslaught seconds before the mass of spells slammed into him, and he remembered being flung backwards, his already injured body bracing itself for more pain and then nothing…

   Shifting slightly, he realised that he wasn’t bound, which meant that he was unlikely to have been captured as he couldn’t imagine the bandits deciding to be kind to him just because he had been injured, and as he moved again he realised he could feel what must be bandages rubbing against his skin. _Someone cared for my injuries?_ Oddly enough that wasn’t reassuring, he was on this job alone as Laxus had been incredibly grumpy and stormed off on an S-Class job a few days before and he had taken this one on his own to try and pass the time. So a stranger must’ve had helped him, and the Rune mage knew from painful experience that such help rarely came without a price. Still, at least it meant that he was still capable of moving and hopefully fighting if necessary, his fingers curling into fists at his side, tensing as he realised that he couldn’t feel his sword in its sheath and he barely managed to muffle a curse… _or not._

“Do you always frown like that when you first wake up?” An amused voice asked. A voice that was much too close for comfort and despite the pain Freed shot upwards and away from that voice, eyes shooting open. A decision that he nearly regretted as the world spun wildly around him and only sheer stubbornness stopped him from either passing out or vomiting, that and the warm hands that had gripped his shoulders as he swayed, fingers gently squeezing as whoever it was tried to soothe him. “Easy, you’re safe here.” Freed wanted to snap that he wasn’t going to believe that just like that, but he was struggling just to stay conscious at the moment, and he found himself leaning against his helper with a defeated sigh, closing his eyes as he waited for the world to settle down.

   It was a good few minutes later than he finally felt confident enough to risk opening his eyes once more, wincing as light assailed his eyes, but relieved to find that the world, for the most part, had stilled and come into focus. This allowed him to see the man who was sat beside him, seemingly unconcerned that Freed was practically sitting in his lap at this point, an arm now slung around his shoulders to help keep him upright. He was huge, that was the first thing that Freed noticed, but then his gaze shifted to his face as the man turned to look at him and he felt his breath catch for a moment. He couldn’t have been much older than Freed, his eyes a striking crimson that seemed to tear straight through all of the Rune mage’s defences, his face was dominated by a tattoo of what appeared to be a slightly distorted man. It was the friendly grin, a long tongue lolling out that made him pause, feeling himself beginning to relax despite himself and he frowned, it was dangerous to let his guard down around someone he didn’t know especially with how poorly the job had gone. Still, it was clear the man had helped him so far, and he wasn’t impolite enough to ignore that.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Now that the world wasn’t spinning around him, he could focus on the man’s voice, recognition flooding him. He could vaguely recall the same voice shouting at him to get down a split second before he had passed out, taking the choice out of his hand. “How do you feel?” The question drew him back to the present, and he blinked, before making himself take an inventory of how he felt, groaning slightly as he shifted and sent fresh pain lancing through every inch of his body. “That good, huh?” The man asked sympathetically before carefully easing Freed back until the Rune mage was leant back against the wall, making sure that he wasn’t going to topple over before rising and heading across to a small fireplace that Freed hadn’t noticed before, reaching for the kettle strung over the flames.

“What happened?” Freed asked, letting his attention wander slightly as he stared around at what seemed to be a small cave, eyeing the entrance that lay behind his rescuer and weighing the odds of being able to reach it if the man turned out to be less friendly than he seemed.

“After you scared the hell out of me hurtling out of nowhere like that?” The man asked humorlessly, but there was a serious undertone that caught Freed’s attention, and he watched through narrowed eyes as the man filled a cup before heading back across to him. He had a feeling there was a lot more to this man than met the eye, not a comforting thought given his current state. “I managed to collapse part of the roof and haul you out of there, that was about five hours ago.”

“Five hours…” Freed chose to focus on that part aloud, honestly dismayed by the thought that he had managed to lose that much time, but more focused on what else the man had said.

 _Collapsing the roof_ …?

    It didn’t look like there were a lot of tools or anything practical that could be used in the cave, which left a high likelihood that the man was also a mage. Which lowered his chances of getting away if it was necessary because as much as he hated to admit it, he knew that it would take him a while to get back enough strength to fight properly.

“You took a bad hit to the head,” the man pointed out as he handed Freed the mug, the Rune mage sniffing it and recognising it as herbal tea although he made no effort to take a sip. Just because his wounds had been tended so far didn’t mean that this wasn’t a trap, and he wasn’t about to walk blindly into it. “My turn for a question, what were you doing there? Everyone around here knows how dangerous it is to go near any of those buildings, and not to cross them…especially alone.”

“It’s a job,” Freed figured that was safe enough to admit, hesitating for a moment before lifting his hand to show his guild mark and catching the sharp intake of breath as crimson eyes narrowed. There was a shift in the man’s expression for a moment and the Rune mage tensed, but then the strange expression cleared and there was surprise in his voice as he asked. “They sent someone alone for a job like this?”

 “The information I was given did not match the job,” Freed grumbled, hands clenching around the mug he was holding. He had been a little suspicious of how nervous his client had been during the meeting, but he had dismissed it as being a result of the bandits’ raids on the town. Clearly, that had been a mistake, he scowled down at his hands. That had been a rookie mistake… “What about you? Why were you there if everyone knows to stay away?” He asked, lifting his head to look at the other man, catching the rueful grin that met his words.

“Let’s just say I like taking risks,” the man replied with a shrug, eyes narrowing as he spotted the cup that Freed was still holding and sighing before adding. “It’s not…”

“Bickslow! Bickslow!” They both tensed at the sharp, childish cry and Freed watched with a stunned expression as five dolls came charging into the room and headed straight for the other man. _Bickslow_ , at least now he had a name to put to the face, although that was of less interest than the dolls that were now rocketing around their master.

“Company,” Bickslow muttered under his breath, reaching up to brush his fingers over the dolls as they soared past him, silencing their frantic cries as he continued to speak. “Damn it, I knew we should have gone further…oh,” he trailed off suddenly, turning to look at Freed with wary eyes as he glanced between the dolls floating around him and the green-haired mage. “I…”

“Seith magic?”

“You recognise it?” Bickslow looked startled at that, not that Freed could really blame him as it was a rare form of magic and often paired with magic that could be used against people, usually to do with taking control of their souls. His gaze trailed across the tattoo for a moment, guessing that was part of the reason for the nervousness.

“I’ve read about it,” Freed replied, managing a faint smile as he watched the dolls nudging their master, clearly sensing his concern. “Fascinating.”

“You’re not scared?”

“Should I be?” Freed asked with an arched eyebrow, hesitating for a moment before setting the mug of untouched tea aside and slowly beginning to rise to his feet. He ignored Bickslow hissing at him to stop and the fresh pain that lanced through him, although he had to admit that he was relieved when the other man darted forward to support him. “I find it hard to fear a man who saves me, and then stops me from falling over.”

“Yeah, well don’t get ahead of yourself,” Bickslow muttered and Freed was amused to see a hint of a blush seeping into the taller man’s cheeks, although his amusement disappeared as they both caught the sound of people heading towards the cave and the Seith mage sighed. “Looks like we’re going to have to fight our way out of here.”

“Fine by me,” Freed said as he gently pushed Bickslow away, there was no way the other man could support him and fight. Besides he still had a job too complete, even if the client had dropped him in it. He sighed before glancing around in search of his sword, before turning to look hopefully at his companion. “You didn’t happen to pick up my sword did you?”

“It was shattered when you went flying…”

   Freed sighed at that news, while he could still fight without his sword it made it a lot easier to have that focus, and it gave him an extra weapon. Something that would be needed, especially as his body really wasn’t happy at being upright and forced to move around. He hesitated for a moment, after all, there was another weapon that he had at his disposal, but he wasn’t sure how Bickslow was going to take it. However, the sound of approaching people was growing louder, and he grimaced before admitting defeat and stepping forward, lifting his head to meet worried crimson eyes, a strange warmth blossoming as he realised the idiot was actually still worrying about him even with trouble literally coming in through the front door.

“You asked if I was scared of your magic didn’t you?” He asked softly, and Bickslow stilled, eyes narrowing before he gave a small nod and Freed sighed, before reaching up and brushing his hair aside as he felt his eye shifting, the turquoise turning jet black and he caught the way the Seith mage tensed. “I think it’s going to be my turn to ask that…” He added softly, turning away and bracing himself for the transformation to come and hoping that Bickslow didn’t freak out too much.

“Wait!” Bickslow called, the word echoed by the dolls and Freed glanced back at them, not sure what to make of the soft, uncertain grin on the Seith mage’s face.“Can I have your name, just in case.?” _In case we don’t make it out of this_ , Freed heard the unspoken words and frowned, determined then and there to make sure that Bickslow at least got out of here alive, because he was the one who had ignored his concerns and rushed in not Bickslow.

“Freed. Freed Justine,” he replied softly a split second before the bandits entered the cave, the words nearly lost beneath the influx of sound, but the grin he received before they sprang into the fray told him that Bickslow had heard him clearly. He just hoped that grin was still there when the other man saw what he really was…


End file.
